Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 debuted at No. 1 on the UK boxed chart, ahead of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, giving Switch 2’s late-summer lineup a revealing sales test.
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Metal Gear takes No. 1 while Elden Ring starts at No. 5
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 debuted at No. 1 on the UK software sales chart for the week ending August 29, 2026, according to GfK data reported by Nintendo Everything, Nintendo Life, and VGChartz. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition also arrived in the same chart week, but opened at No. 5.
That is the concrete result at the center of this week’s UK games chart: Konami’s Metal Gear package beat Bandai Namco’s Switch 2 edition of Elden Ring at boxed retail during a crowded late-August window. Star Wars: Zero Company debuted between them at No. 2, while EA Sports FC 26 and Pokémon Pokopia slipped to No. 3 and No. 4 respectively after leading the prior week’s chart.
The ranking does not tell us total unit sales, revenue, or digital performance. The sources identify this as the UK retail or boxed chart, compiled by GfK. That limitation matters because boxed sales can favor different audiences than the full market, especially for collections, premium editions, family games, and Nintendo-platform releases. Still, as a physical retail signal, it is a useful snapshot of late-summer software demand: two major names launched, and Metal Gear had the stronger boxed opening.
The platform split makes the win less simple than the headline
Nintendo Everything reported the platform split for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 as 80 percent on PS5, 11 percent on Nintendo Switch 2, 6 percent on Xbox, and 3 percent on the original Switch. Nintendo Life published the same split in its physical UK chart coverage.
That makes the No. 1 debut a Konami win at boxed retail, but not primarily a Switch 2 win in raw platform share. PS5 accounted for four-fifths of the game’s boxed sales in the reported split, so the clearest confirmed takeaway is that Metal Gear’s physical audience was concentrated on Sony’s current console. Switch 2 contributed a visible minority share, while the original Switch version registered only 3 percent.
For Switch 2 games momentum, the sharper reading is about participation rather than dominance. Metal Gear launching on both Switch systems gave Nintendo players access to the collection, but the UK boxed audience chose PS5 overwhelmingly. That should temper any easy claim that the chart-topping debut proves Switch 2 can match PS5 at physical retail for third-party legacy collections. It does show that Switch 2 was present in a No. 1 multiplatform launch, which is still a different signal from being absent or relegated to digital-only availability.
Elden Ring’s No. 5 debut is stronger in context than the rank suggests
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition entered the UK boxed chart at No. 5. Nintendo Life described it as technically a Switch 2 exclusive, while Nintendo Everything noted that its launch was “not bad at all” given the price and the fact that it is a game-key card. Games Asylum’s launch roundup listed the Switch 2 version at £64.99 and said it includes the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, new armour, and extra features to alter Torrent’s appearance.
Those details change how the No. 5 start reads. This was not a standard new multiplatform boxed launch across PS5 and Xbox. It was a Switch 2 edition of a game with an existing market footprint, launching at a premium price and, according to Nintendo Everything, using a game-key card format. For physical buyers, that format can be a deciding factor because the box does not function like a traditional full-data cartridge. The provided sources do not include consumer polling, so we cannot quantify resistance to game-key cards, but Nintendo Everything explicitly framed the format and price as relevant context for the debut.
Games Asylum also wrote ahead of release that Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition had been pushed back due to performance issues such as framerate drops when action became hectic, and added that reports suggested the delay had improved its state compared with six months earlier. The same outlet cautioned that reviews would be needed to judge whether visuals had been significantly downgraded to keep performance smooth. That makes the boxed debut less of a pure brand-strength test and more of a risk-adjusted launch: high prestige, high price, known technical scrutiny, and a physical format some buyers may question.
Switch 2’s late-summer shelf presence is broader than one result
The top 40 published by Nintendo Life shows Switch 2 appearing across several charting games, not only Metal Gear and Elden Ring. Resident Evil Requiem climbed from No. 27 to No. 8, with Nintendo Life listing its platform split as 68 percent PS5, 29 percent Switch 2, and 3 percent Xbox. Split Fiction rose from No. 25 to No. 12, with a reported split of 62 percent PS5, 37 percent Switch 2, and 2 percent Xbox. Pokémon Legends: Z-A sat at No. 19 with a 53 percent Switch 2 and 47 percent Switch split. Nintendo Life also listed Switch 2 shares for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Super Mario Party Jamboree.
Taken together, the chart suggests a platform still building a mixed software profile at boxed retail: new third-party releases, upgraded or cross-generation Nintendo titles, evergreen Switch-era games, and premium ports. The strongest confirmed third-party boxed share in the provided data is not Metal Gear’s 11 percent on Switch 2, but Split Fiction’s 37 percent and Resident Evil Requiem’s 29 percent. That contrast is important. Switch 2 owners are showing up for some third-party boxed titles, but the pull varies significantly by game, audience, and likely by format, price, and perceived technical fit.
Late summer can be a difficult retail window because the chart is split between new releases, sports holdovers, family software, and discounted back-catalog titles. In this week’s top ten, GfK data reported through the cited outlets had three new entries in the top five, EA Sports FC 26 still at No. 3, Pokémon Pokopia at No. 4, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream at No. 6, Mario Kart World at No. 7, Resident Evil Requiem jumping to No. 8, Football Manager 26 re-entering at No. 9, and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Complete Edition moving up to No. 10. That is not a quiet chart. Metal Gear had to clear both fresh competition and durable sellers to take the top spot.
Konami’s collection benefits from a clear physical-retail proposition
Games Asylum described Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 as coming to both Switch and Switch 2, with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker included alongside extras. The same roundup said the Game Boy Color title Metal Gear: Ghost Babel features within the collector’s edition, and noted critical claims that the package preserves the two main games well while freeing Metal Gear Solid 4 from its long association with PS3.
The provided sources do not give UK pricing for Metal Gear’s boxed versions, nor do they confirm digital splits. They do, however, show a release with several retail-friendly traits: a well-known franchise, a numbered collection format, a cross-platform launch, and a physical audience that heavily favored PS5. For boxed sales, that combination can be powerful because collections often appeal to players who want a shelf item as much as access to the software.
There is also a strategic difference between Metal Gear and Elden Ring here. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 is presented in the sources as an archival package collecting older entries. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is a demanding modern action RPG arriving on Switch 2 with an expansion included and with prior performance concerns reported by Games Asylum. One asks boxed buyers to buy preservation and access. The other asks them to trust a technically ambitious conversion at £64.99. That does not make one release better than the other, but it helps explain why the retail chart rewarded them differently.
The practical read for Switch 2 owners and publishers
For players deciding what to buy now, the confirmed information points to different questions for each launch. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 is available across PS5, Switch 2, Xbox, and Switch according to the reported platform split, with PS5 dominating the UK boxed share. If portability or Nintendo hardware access is the priority, the Switch 2 version exists and contributed 11 percent of the UK boxed split. If the goal is to follow the largest physical-player base indicated by this chart, PS5 is where the UK boxed audience concentrated.
For Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, the key practical factors from the sources are price, format, and performance scrutiny. Games Asylum listed it at £64.99 and said it includes Shadow of the Erdtree, new armour, and Torrent appearance options. Nintendo Everything identified it as a game-key card release. Games Asylum also flagged the earlier performance-delay context and said reviews would be needed to determine the final visual and performance tradeoffs. That makes waiting for technical analysis a rational move for cautious buyers, especially those sensitive to framerate or physical-media ownership details.
For publishers, this UK boxed sales week sends a more nuanced signal than “Metal Gear beat Elden Ring.” Switch 2 can place premium third-party games in visible chart positions, including Elden Ring at No. 5 and Metal Gear contributing to a No. 1 launch. Yet PS5 remains the stronger boxed retail base for at least this Konami release, and game-key card perception may be a variable publishers need to manage carefully on Switch 2. The late-summer chart shows momentum, but it also shows the rules of the platform economy: format, technical confidence, price, and franchise fit can shift the result as much as brand name alone.